Gladiolus plant named ‘Festiva’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct gladiolus variety, designated ‘Festiva’, is shown and described. Compared to the ‘Jennie Lee’ parent variety, ‘Festiva’ has a similar bloom diameter, produces stems having the same length, but produces one to two less florets per stem.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct variety of aGladiolus l. referred to by the variety name ‘Festiva.’

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

FIG. 1 is a photograph of a ‘Festiva’ variety plant in bloom.

FIGS. 2 and 3 are photographs of the ‘Festiva’ variety plant prior toblooming.

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating the shape and size of the large petals.

ASEXUAL REPRODUCTION

The new variety was originated by the Applicant in a controlledproprietary breeding program in Ft. Myers, Fla. wherein selectedgladiolus varieties were crossed. (The provisional breeder's designation“28-3” was used in a related application for a Community plant varietyright filed earlier in the European Union Community Plant VarietyOffice). The female parent was an unpatented gladiolus variety named‘Dr. Magie,’ characterized in part by having a small pink bloom, a shortstem having a short flower head, and high resistance to Fusarium fungispecies. The male parent was a salmon pink gladiolus variety named‘Jennie Lee,’ an unpatented, released variety (by Jennie Lee Zipperer),characterized in part by having a long stem, long head, and high floretcount (i.e. 18-20 florets) when grown from a jumbo bulb (i.e. 1.75inches and larger) in south Florida. The seeds were planted in Ft.Myers, Fla., and the selection of the ‘Festiva’ variety was made inSpring 1988. Asexual reproduction of the ‘Festiva’ variety was achievedby collecting cormels from the first corm and growing said cormels tomaturity in Ft. Myers. All subsequent asexual reproductions of the‘Festiva’ variety remain true to the original variety type.

BONTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The accompanying color photograph (FIG. 1) shows the inflorescence andvarious stages of blooming of the ‘Festiva’ variety plant.

The following botanical description, except for color, of the ‘Festiva’variety was observed when the plant was 90 days old grown under thefollowing conditions in Ecuador:

1) Twelve-hour daylight days with high light intensity.

2) Temperatures: 58-60° F. (low's) and 69-75° F. (high's).

3) Humidity: 50-55%.

4) Rainfall: 2-3 inches/month.

All color descriptions with respect to parts of the variety, where coloris a distinguishing feature, are made to The Royal Horticultural SocietyColour Chart (R.H.S.), except where terms of ordinary usage anddictionary meaning are used. Color observations with respect to TheR.H.S. Colour Chart were made in the Netherlands under similarenvironmental conditions as described above, but at increased daylengths of 12 to 17 hours and 50% to 65% humidity.

The spike of the plant is about 118 cm and comprises 17 florets whengrown from #2 size corms (1.25 to 1.50 inches) in Ecuador. The color ofthe spike is Yellow Green Group 144D. The head length is 48 cm. Itshould be noted, however, that various factors will affect spike length,including temperature (larger spikes occur in cooler weather),irrigation, light intensity, fertilization, soil type (larger spikesoccur in heavy soils versus sandy soil), and bulb size (larger bulbsresult in larger spikes).

The leaf color of the ‘Festiva’ variety is Green Group 137C on bothsides. The leaf size is about 63 cm (length) by 3.5 cm (width).

The bud size of the ‘Festiva’ variety is about 7.5 cm in length. Theflowers of the variety each consist of a total of six petals.Specifically, in one arrangement, each bloom consists of one large petaloriented on the top part of the bloom near 12:00 (referring to the faceof clock), one small-sized petal oriented on the lower half of the bloom(at about 6:00), and four medium-size petals also oriented on the lowerpart of the bloom. The most common petal arrangement consists of threelarge petals located in the upper half of the bloom (between 9:00 and3:00), one medium-size petal located in the lower half of the bloom, andtwo small petals also positioned in the lower half of the bloom. Thediameter of the entire bloom is about 13 cm.

The color of the corolla bloom is Yellow Group 4D deep within the throatof the bloom, followed by Red Group 52C. The yellow color is observed onthe inner part of the medium and small petals, and the medium petalsalso have a splash of White Group 155B in the center of the petal,followed by Red Group 52C. All six petals have a line (White Group 155B)bisecting the petal lengthwise. The color of the bloom tight is RedGroup 49B. The color of the bloom open perfect condition is Red Group52C. The color of the bloom open going down is Red Group 52D.

The variety has three stamens and one pistil. The color of the pistilstem and tips is White Group N155B. The color of the pistil head is RedPurple Group 62B. The color of the stamen head is Red Purple Group 64B,and the color the stamen stem is White Group N155A.

The corns of the ‘Festiva’ variety are typical for the gladiolus andhave a Yellow-Orange Group 23A color under the husk on the top of thebulb one day after harvest.

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

Compared to the parent ‘Dr. Magie,’ the ‘Festiva’ variety produces stemsthat are about 25 cm taller, has three to four more florets per stem,and a bloom diameter that is 2-3 cm larger. The variety is also lessresistant to Fusarium compared to ‘Dr. Magie.’ When compared to theparent ‘Jennie Lee,’ the most similar variety to ‘Festiva,’ the‘Festiva’ variety produces stems of the same length, one to two floretsless per stem, and a similar bloom diameter. In addition, the ‘Festiva’variety takes seven more days to begin harvesting after planting (i.e.nearly 90 days) compared to ‘Jennie Lee.’ The ‘Festiva’ variety hasperformed well when grown during fall, winter, and spring months inEcuador. Growth is good during short days as well as in cold weather.The variety shows good resistance to burning in hot weather.

The variety opens well after traveling up to seven days in a dry box,and can hold up to six florets open simultaneously in a vase of water.The variety takes about two days to open the first bloom, which lastsfor 2.5 days. The total duration of blooming is nine days from the daythe plant is placed in water.

The variety does not emit a fragrance.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct gladiolus variety of plant, ‘Festiva’, asshown and described herein.